No injuries reported in blazes in Hinckley, Lafayette townships

Firefighters in Medina County were busy Monday morning battling separate blazes in Hinckley and Lafayette townships.

The first fire struck a home at 1900 Ridge Road, Hinckley Township, at about 7:30 a.m.

Firefighters work to extinguish a house fire at about 10 a.m. Monday at 7100 Westfield Road in Lafayette Township. The blaze was the second of two fires Monday morning in Medina County. The first fire started at about 7:30 a.m. at 1900 Ridge Road in Hinckley Township. (GAZETTE PHOTO BY STEVE GRAZIER)

About two hours later, Lafayette Township firefighters responded a fire in a two-story house at 7100 Westfield Road.

Hinckley Fire Chief Tim Potts said the Ridge Road blaze originated in the basement of the home, and the cause hasn’t been determined yet.

Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, were in the home. One called 911 to report the fire just after 7:30 a.m.

“Those folks were fortunate because there were no working smoke detectors in the home,” Potts said.

Sgt. Bruce Linville, of the Hinckley Township Police Department, was one of the first responders to arrive at the fire.

“The house was full of smoke when I got to the back door to help the kids out,” Linville said.

The youths were transported to Southwest General Hospital in Brunswick for smoke inhalation.

The owner of the home, Carol Priebe, was out of town Monday, Potts said. One juvenile was a resident of the home.

Potts estimated the fire damage at $50,000 to $60,000.

“There was structural damage to the floor and ceiling, and many furnishings were lost,” he said.

At the Lafayette Township blaze, firefighters responded to a call at 9:41 a.m. and had the fire under control in about an hour, Lafayette Fire Chief Jeff Hall said.

“We believe it started in the chimney, where there might have been a problem with its installation,” the chief said.

Hall said there were no injuries to about a half-dozen family members who were home when the blaze started. He did not know the name of the homeowner.
Fire damage to the residence could reach $25,000, Hall said.